“Fine at School Is Not Fine”

When a school tells a parent, “Your child seems fine here,”
what they’re actually saying is:

We only measure what happens in our building.

They don’t see the crash at home.
They don’t see the shutdown after pickup.
They don’t see the masking hangover.

ND parents see the truth.
NT systems see the performance.

These two realities are not equal.
But only one is treated as evidence.

Somatic Reflection

When someone says, “Your child seems fine here,” pause and check your body:

• Does your chest tighten? That’s the part of you that’s held the after-school crash alone.

• Does your throat get small? That’s the truth you’ve swallowed in meetings to avoid being labeled “emotional.”

• Does your stomach drop? That’s the grief of having your home reality dismissed in favor of the school’s performance version.

• Does your jaw clench? That’s the instinct to protect your child from a system that only sees their mask.